Ex-minister faces charges of sex abuse of daughters

Howard County police yesterday charged a 45-year-old former minister with sexually abusing his two adopted daughters during the 1970s when they were children.

The Savage resident was charged with two counts of abuse to a minor, two counts of sex acts with a minor and one count of sexual intercourse with a minor, said police spokesman Michael Sherman.

The man was being held without bail last night at the Howard County Detention Center.

The man's name was omitted from this story to protect the identities of the alleged victims. The Sun does not publish the names of sex crime victims unless the victims choose to be named publicly.

Even though the alleged abuse occurred during the 1970s, the man was charged because there is no statute of limitations on sexual abuse and other felonies, Detective Sherman said.

"The mother was not aware of it," Detective Sherman said, adding that the man's wife was not present in the homes where the alleged abuse occurred.

In late June, the man's youngest daughter, now 23, reported the alleged abuse to police after she had received sexual abuse therapy, Detective Sherman said. The alleged abuse occurred between 1974 and 1978 at their homes in Mount Airy and in Columbia.

Detective Sherman said the 23-year-old daughter said she was abused while she was between the ages of 5 and 8. The woman alleged that her father had sexual intercourse with her and fondled her.

The man also was charged with sexually abusing his other daughter, now 24, when she was between the ages of 5 and 8, Detective Sherman said.

Court records said the man took a polygraph examination at the request of police detectives and afterward he confessed to abusing both daughters, court charging papers said.